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Harvard Professor Slams Obama's World Bank Nomination

Amidst early praise for President Obama’s nomination of Dartmouth President Jim Yong Kim as head of the World Bank, Lant Pritchett, a tenured professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government who worked at the World Bank for 17 years, is blasting Kim’s nomination as “a terrible idea.”

Says Pritchett, who teaches courses in the practice of international development, “It’s an embarrassment to the U.S. You cannot with a straight face say this person is the most qualified to lead the World Bank.”

An infectious disease specialist, Kim helped found a Boston-based nonprofit called Partners in Health that trains community health workers in developing countries to make home visits to treat diseases like TB. Kim also directed the World Health Organization’s department of H.I.V./AIDS. But unlike past World Bank presidents, he has no experience in banking, policy making, economics or development. Kim has been president of Dartmouth for the last three years. Kim was also awarded a MacArthur “genius” fellowship in 2003, and was born in Seoul, South Korea, moving to the U.S. with his family at age 5. Forbes ran a recent profile of him here.

In the World Bank’s 68-year history, the U.S. has always nominated the president, who must be voted on by the Bank’s 25-member executive board. This year, Angola, South Africa and Nigeria nominated a competing candidate, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Nigerian finance minister and a former World Bank official. Pritchett insists she is much more qualified than Kim. He points out that the U.S. has less than a 20% share of board votes and though he gives Kim a 60% chance of being appointed, he says that countries like India and China could wind up opposing Kim’s nomination and pressing for Okonjo-Iweala.

“There is no way you can say with a straight face that this man is more qualified to head the World Bank than Ngozi,” insists Pritchett. Okonjo-Iweala has tackled corruption in Nigeria and because she has worked inside the Bank and as the Bank’s government counterpart in a developing country with complex problems, Pritchett insists she has precisely the kind of experience needed in a World Bank leader.

“At best, Kim has worked with ministers of health, but they are in one of many, many government agencies,” says Pritchett. “A minister of finance has to make hard choices across sectors. Having the experience of a minister of finance is the optimal experience for being president of the World Bank.” Adds Pritchett, nominating Kim “is like picking the short stop for the New York Yankees out of the scrub leagues.”

Pritchett points out that the World Bank, whose mission is to reduce global poverty by providing financial resources and sharing expertise with developing nations, works with fragile governments like Pakistan and Afghanistan on complex development issues, from raising tax revenues to elevating GDP to reforming education.

For Pritchett, there is an important distinction between the kind of work Kim has done, which he calls “charity work,” and the complex tasks engaged in by the World Bank. “Development is about countries becoming prosperous, democratic and capable, like being able to deliver the mail, having police forces that work and kids who get educated,” says Pritchett. “Charity work is helping people cope with the fact that they live in places where they don’t have those things.”

Pritchett, who supported Obama’s presidential bid, says that the President overlooked much more qualified candidates like PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi and Lawrence Summers, the former Treasury secretary who is a colleague and friend of Pritchett’s at Harvard. “The Obama administration had some concerns about the political left flank on this and did the craven thing,” says Pritchett.

Adds Pritchett, “there’s no question that Kim has done terrific things, but I wouldn’t nominate Mother Teresa to head the World Bank if she were still alive.”

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If his administration at Dartmouth is any indication, he would be more likely to bring his own coterie with him and ignore the advice of nearly everyone (save a few favorites) who have been there for years and years. One would hope there is greater pressure at the World Bank to prevent bad habits from repeating themselves.

I agree with Susan. It is the leader’s responsibility to lead; to set the tone. Direct experience is helpful but not necessary. It is much too early to judge Jim Kim. Let’s first see what his actions are.

Karla Bushway. I dont think Kim intends to be married to WB forever. To bring ones coterie will quickly help implement a new leader’s style and agenda. And golly, for World Bank and our sake, let’s hope that he has his OWN AGENDA in heaps. Plus a different style would a nice bonus. He got the three things we want if we are to go with an “untested”: he is apolitical; he is very intelligent, ballsy and pioneering; seems to have personal standards. That’s what we all want dont we?

I can understand needing support within the Organisation but not help. If he needs help then he isnt fit for leeadership because his first skill is being able to understand the organisations see the botttle necks and provide alternative, new direction if a leader needs “help” thats not a good sign. – My opinion if he is chosen is he will be a sitting duck not aware of changes and wont be able to effect any himself or make a case for it.

I can understand needing support within the Organisation but not help. If he needs help then he isnt fit for leeadership because his first skill is being able to understand the organisations see the botttle necks and provide alternative, new direction if a leader needs “help” thats not a good sign. – My opinion if he is chosen is he will be a sitting duck not aware of changes and wont be able to effect any himself let alone make a case for it.

Given the enormous achievements of Jim Yog Kim, it maybe unfair to say that he is not qualified for the job. However, given the global economic situation, the position of World bank president should not be left to neophyte serendipity. I find it hard to believe, the you and Ching thinks it should not be about most qualified. My question to both of you is next time you visit a hospital, who will you choose to attend to you? Most qualified? Or if it is your money that you want to invest, tell who you will lean to.